The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1887-03-26
4 DEE'ECTIyE BIsIDGE
Cause of the Disaster on the Eoston
Providence Road.

Cause of the Disaster the Eoston &
Providence Road.
New YORK, March 16.-The Engi-
neering News, having thoroughly in
vestigated the Forest Hill disaster on
the Boston & Providence Railroad,
will publish the following in regard to
it in this weeks issue: "The cause of
this dreadful catastrophe has been
very obscure in the newspaper ac-
counts, the only certain thing having
been that the bridge was sort of
patchwork nondescript which
violated several OF the most
important and fundamental require
mente OF good bridge designing We
are now fortunately able to shed far
more light on what the precise cause
was than has heretofore appeared,
or than is at all likely to appear from
any other source, even in the official
investigation: from the fact that we
have now in our office what will prob
ably be the most important bit of
evidence in that investigation, viz:
The two original parts which in all
human probability were the
first to break These parts
are in possession OF Henry S. Pritch-
ard, c. E., practical bridge engineer
OF Philadelphia, who undertook to
critically examine the structure on be-
half of this journal, and who went
about it apparently little more sys-
tematically than those who had pre-
ceded him. In connection with fur
ther information gathered for US with
in an hour or two after the accident
occurred by Mr.. Frederick Brooks,
c. E., OF Boston, these fragments may
be said to be absolutely con-
elusive as to the real difficulty, since
it is impossible that there should
have been more detective parts in the
bridge il it was to stand up at all.
The parts which first broke were the
tW o hangers which carried the last or
most eAsterly pair of floor beams OF
the northerly or last built truss-the
truss which carried all the load. So
far as can be Judged from outside ap-
pearances they are made OF far from
good iron to begin with, but in addi-
tion to that, tt ey are OF very bad de-
sign and most imperfectly weldet. In
addition to that again, they are
both OF them very badly
fawed by old and deeply
rusted breaks at the mos
strained section, there being two dis
tinct breaks OF this kind to each speci-
men. The first hanger has both breaks
across the weld, the first break being
complete and the second break an
inch and an eighth above it, all but
complete, the metal merely hanging
together by the outside skin. This
hanger can never have done any
work since its original and now
ancient fracture, or it would have
broken apart long since. The second
hanger was checked across half of
It's inside face covered by the
supposed weld) for about hall its
depth of effective section, and this was
clearly where fracture first began. 1t
caused a secondary fracture at a Sec
ond old break in the hook of the
welded end, which cut off a somewhat
larger portion OF the effective strength
OF the iron. All this is clearly shown
in the eugravings OF the bridge and its
broken parts, which appear in this issue
and the general judgment OF engineers
will bear us out in saying that more
shamefulty bad specimens of bridge
design, metal and workmanship can
hardly exist. We regret to have to
express so sweeping a condemnation
OF the structure, but the facts more
than Justify it, and it is but right that
In an occurrence OF this kind the truth
should be pointed out and made clear
without fear or favor. 1t is ap-
palling to think of the tens of thous-
ands OF lives which have literally
hung by thread in passing over this
bridge during the past eleven years."